How Lean Six Sigma Helps You Get A Job

Project Storyboard Example

Operational Definitions • Daily Job Contacts – mail, in-person, or phone contacts that are documented

in an ongoing Job Search Log

• Minor Phone Defect – 1/3 phone numbers on cover letters was defective. This phone number is infrequently used by potential employers

• Phrasing Defect – wordy, incorrect leading verb

• Previous Style – changing from use of ‘…’ or ‘etc’ to complete phrases or thoughts

• Punctuation Defect – incorrect punctuation

• Spelling Defect – spelling defect noted after letter or email transmittal

• Trailing ‘&’ Defect – a trailing ‘&’ is at the end of phrases

• Trend Lines – used to show decrease in quantity defect (when relevant)

Project Results Summary

Project Wins

• Improved number of daily contacts from an average of 3.3 to 5

• Decreased phone number & punctuation defects from .GT. 40% & 12%, respectively, to .LT. 5%

• The client, perspective employer, received a higher quality cover letter & resume. The probability of receiving a job related contact increased

DMAIC Approach

• Root causes were identified using reviews of job related correspondences as well as feedback from potential employers

• Defect rates and submittals were measured by reviewing, electronically scanning, and counting submittals

• Change was driven by implementing a thorough second check to increase removal of defects and increase in submittals on a daily basis

Define Phase• Problem Statement #1: Number of daily correspondences were decreasing

and quality defects were increasing; customers expect zero defects in cover letters and resumes

• Goal #1: Increase productivity, quality, and effectiveness of job correspondences

• Problem Statement #2: A decreasing number of high quality employment correspondences is causing a low response from potential employers

• Goal Statement #2: Simultaneously increase the:

• Number of correspondences

• Quality of correspondences

• Use of more effective marketing channels

Measure Phase

• Defect rates, number of job submittals, and % direct mail were measured

• Baseline data existed in electronic files

• Defects were identified and tabulated

• A baseline was established

• Trend line fits of data was completed for 2 major defects

Measurement Graphs

Analyze Phase• Analysis of data after implementing improvements showed

several key findings:

• Number of daily job contacts increased at least 48%

• Style change in correspondences was implemented faster

• % direct mail is associated with over 50% of the increase in interviews

• Pareto charts, histograms, and scatter charts are the tools utilized

Analysis Graphs

Improve Phase• Customer Realizations

• Targeted & higher quality job correspondences

• One less resume in the reject pile

• Higher prospect yield for time spent

• Job Seeker Realizations

• Less rework of incorrect correspondences

• Increase in employer responses

• Closer job match and more Interviews

Control Phase

What’s next?

• The sustained improvement will continue into the future. The number of submittals and number of defects will be continuously tracked and are part of an improvement plan. The goal is to use direct mail for at least 1/3 of submittals

• The relationship between faxed job correspondences and interviews needs additional clarification

• Many of these studies are expected to verify known effective techniques for job hunting

Get Project Details

• For the full project details, visit our website: https://goleansixsigma.com/how-lean-six-sigma-helps-you-get-a-job/

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